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Monday, September 19, 2011

Did you come home from FGS or another conference with a stack of business cards and you can't put a face with the name? Do you exchange business cards and then can’t remember who the person is and what common surnames you share?Did you forget what you had in common, what you talked about, or what session(s) you both attended?In the past I have.

The FGS Conference in Springfield was different.I exchanged cards with many attendees.But instead of just keeping the cards filed until I returned home, every night, I made a note of what this person and I talked about, whether it was a surname, a society issue, or just general genealogy information.A couple of great people I shared meals with, both of us being singles and deciding to share a table.I noted all of that, or at least as much as I could remember after a long day at the conference.

At past conferences, I wasn’t as diligent in keeping track of the great people I met, and so I am not able to easily contact them with information that may be of interest to both of us.I mentioned this to my daughter and son-in-law after the conference and they both stated that they often write on the back of the new card special information.They do this as soon after they exchange the card as is politely possible to do.I think I may try this next time.I can always make notes during a session before I start taking notes or put the new card away.

I’ve only been home 6 days and I still need to organize some of the cards I received. But I know who they are. And I promised a couple of new friends some information.Now I just have to get it ready to send. That will be next week’s project.

So, my suggestion is to decide the best way for you to record enough information about the person you receive a card from so that you will benefit from the meeting at a later date.And, you will know who you promised what information so that the next time you meet, you won’t be embarrassed about your short lapse of memory (senior moment?)

Welcome

I'm glad you found Karen's Genealogy Oasis blog. Come around the back and share a cool glass of freshly brewed iced tea or lemonade while we sit on the patio and listen to the fountains and watch the birds.

I'd love to share the information I have on family lines as well as research techniques and new discoveries. And let's talk about genealogy activities all over the United States but particularly in Arizona and other southwestern states.

Check out the My Surnames tab at the top of the blog to see which people I am researching. If any of these people look familiar, let's plan on getting together.

Please feel free to write to me. To send me a message write me at karenazgen [at] gmail [dot] com. I hope to hear from you.